The Nurtured OT

10/05/2026

To the mothers in the thick of raising little ones.
To the mothers running on empty while still showing up every day.
To the FIFO mothers. 
To the mothers who are pregnant, postpartum and navigating matrescence.
To the women longing to become mothers.
To those trying to conceive and carrying the weight of waiting.
To bereaved mothers carrying love and grief side by side.
To stepmums, foster mums, adoptive mums and grandmothers.
To the mothers parenting neurodivergent children, highly sensitive children and children with additional needs.
To the mothers who are navigating their own neurodivergence. 
To the mothers doing it with support, and those doing it feeling completely alone.

We see you. We hear you. We honour you. We are you.
And we want you to know you are doing an incredible job.

Happy Mother’s Day from the team at The Nurtured OT 💕

06/05/2026

What does maternal mental health really look like?

Today, May 6th is World Maternal Mental Health Day.

1 in 5 women experience maternal mental health challenges—yet so many go unseen, misunderstood, or are quietly brushed off as “just part of motherhood.”
It’s also estimated that up to 7 in 10 women hide how they’re really feeling, minimising or masking their experience just to get through the day.

Maternal mental health doesn’t always look like what people expect, and doesn’t always need a diagnosis or label.

It may look, sound or feel like the above.

Maternal mental health challenges does not make you a bad parent. It simply means you might be carrying more than you were ever meant to carry alone.

This is why awareness matters.
So more mums feel seen.
So more conversations happen out loud.
So support comes sooner—not just at breaking point.

Here at The Nurtured OT, we see you. We hear you. We’ve been you.
Our maternal health support services can offer you a space where you feel seen, supported and understood, without judgement. The sessions can help you make sense of what you are feeling, to support you to feel more regulated and grounded in your day to day, strengthen your connection with your baby or child and support you to navigate the mental load of motherhood, understand your triggers and implement strategies to best support you.

Because when a mum’s mental health is connected and supported, her baby/child, her relationships and the whole family system is also supported.

01/05/2026

How grateful we are to have our home in such a like minded, uplifting and inspiring space ❤️

23/04/2026

If toddlers had a group chat – meal time edition 🍰🍔🍓

Kiddo asking for food then not wanting it?
Stating they’re hungry, taking 2 mouthful then they’re done?
Only eating certain foods, cut in certain ways?
Not trying new foods?

Mealtimes can be a challenge for many families, especially in toddlerhood.
Fussy phases, picky eating, constant changing of minds is a common and normal part of toddlerhood (however if the fussy phase and picky eating is resulting in weight loss or is impacting your child’s ability to engage in their preferred activities due to decreased energy, please reach out to a health professional).

A few gentle things you can try to support your child through the fussy toddler stage include:
- keep offering a variety of different foods on the plate alongside their preferred foods, with no pressure to eat (exposure to the smell, sight and touch of the foods is a great way to explore)
- Let them explore and play with their foods, in particular new foods. Let them squash it, build towers with it (on their plate), stamp with it.
- Try to keep mealtimes relaxed and free from external distractions, with a somewhat regular routine
- Share mealtimes together where you can; your child will watch you eat a variety of foods, which will help them to learn and explore new food also
- Don’t force your child to eat new foods to the point they become sick (this will form a negative experience towards food and further limit their exploration)

And if you feel you and your child may benefit from some more guidance and support regarding food and mealtime, please never hesitate to reach out!

06/04/2026

We can’t wait for this! If you think your child may be interested contact Byford Therapy Collective!

🦄 Only 10 spots available – and they will go quickly 🦄

This isn’t just a story session — it’s a chance for kids to learn how their thoughts shape their world in a way that actually makes sense to them.

Through the story of Albert the Wise Unicorn, kids will:
💭 understand their thoughts and feelings
💛 build confidence with big emotions
🌱 learn simple ways to respond to challenges

All in a fun, engaging workshop with author Salli Galvin.

🎟 Ages 8–12
📅 Saturday 18 April
⏰ 12–1PM
💲 $35 (includes a copy of the book)

👉 Limited to 10 places – book early to avoid missing out. Email hello@byfordtherapycollective.com.au to reserve your kiddo’s spot

30/03/2026

Easter Gifting 🐣

Over the weekend Miss 3 and I made up some little Easter gifts for her pre-kindy friends (Miss 3 had asked to give her friends a present and we love getting creative, but Easter gifts are absolutely NOT a need to do thing!).

We made our own colouring pages on canva (Miss 3 chose which pictures to use), and we printed them 4 to a page on white cardstock.

We used:
✨ White cardstock (purchased from Kmart) - $0.24 per sheet
✨ Mini pencils (purchased from Kmart) - $0.08 per pencil (we gifted 5 per gift)
✨ Easter stamps (purchased from Kmart) - $0.19 per stamp
✨ Hollow chocolate eggs (purchased from Kmart) - $0.60 each
✨ Paper Polka Dot Bag (purchased from Kmart) - $0.31 per bag
✨ Crayons (24 pack crayola purchased from Kmart) to make DIY Easter egg crayons - $0.10 per crayon (and one “egg” used x2)

For what we created for Miss 3’s little school buddies cost us $2.08 per gift (Miss 3 has 12 little friends at school) - (however you could easily adjust this to suit your budget and needs - no chocolate eggs, no crayon eggs, no stamp, less pencils, a different bag to pack it into).

And remember, this is absolutely NOT a need to do, we are just sharing this as a cost effective, easy to do little gift for little friends, if that is something that you and your family do!

02/03/2026

New resources added to our space in Feb!

Due to some resourceful marketplace/local buy swap sell page scouring we were able to add quite a few fun new toys into the space in Feb!

What do you think your kiddos favourite might be?

19/02/2026

2 Years of The Nurtured OT ✨

A little over 2 years ago today, I decided that it was time for my little dream to become a reality, and deep dive into starting The Nurtured OT!
2 years ago today I saw my first client out on my own in the business and how very grateful I am for those first few families for taking a chance on me.

And now here we are, in our new home at Byford Therapy Collective, with an incredible team with Holly and Laura joining us last year.
We have some exciting things in the works for this coming year (including some new services), and can’t wait to share them with you!

Thankyou for your continued support, whether you are a family we work with, a potential family, or a follower. We are so grateful for each and every one of you!

01/02/2026

Quick Tip!

Keychain/keyrings are a great thing to add to anything with a zipper for little fingers - such as school bag zips or lunchbox zips!

Adding a keychain/keyring gives little fingers a bit bigger area to grab on to, allowing them increased success in holding the zip while also opening and closing it.

We’ve added one on to our little ones school bag ready for day one of prekindy!

01/01/2026

2026 In's and Outs from us - what are yours?

#2026

30/12/2025

Lies you've been told about co-regulation:

↠ A co-regulator has to be calm all the time
↠ A child will learn to regulate if you don't show them your emotions
↠ You are not effectively co-regulating if your child still has big emotions
↠Co-regulating is about effectively managing emotions
↠ A child should learn to self-regulate in their toddler years and not rely on co-regulation

Instead, we want you to know that:
↠ It is ok to experience big emotions as a co-regulator - we are human after all!
↠ Showing our children our emotions (happy, sad, frustrated, worried) is ok, and helps children to know it is also ok for them to have these experiences
↠ Big emotions are "normal" - it doesn't mean that we are not effectively co-regulating
↠ Regulation is so much more than just our emotions
↠ Self-regulation cannot be taught, if is developed through connection when we co-regulate with our caregivers

Did any of these "lies" surprise you?
The team at The Nurtured OT are here to debunk unrealistic expectations about regulation, and instead are here to support you alongside your journey!